1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to web technology and, in particular, to on-line payment technology for web services.
2. Description of the Related Technology
There are three types of on-line payment techniques for web services at present. The first type involves bundling user accounts with bank cards and making payments after logging in. Specifically, a user provides bank card details at the time of registering an account for a web service. A payment platform of the web service stores bundling information related to the registered account and the bank card details. When the user needs to make on-line payments, the user first logs in for the web service using the registered account; after the user has selected goods to purchase, the payment platform searches for relevant bank card details based on the account and the bundling information; and payments can then be made from the relevant bank card. Apple™ Inc. uses this technology for its APP Store.
The second type relies on a third party payment platform to make payments. Specifically, a user does not need to provide bank card details when registering an account for web service. When making an on-line payment, the user first logs in for the web service using his account; after the user has selected goods to purchase, the session is switched to a gateway of a third party payment platform; when the user has entered his user name (e.g. a bank card number) and pin (e.g. password for payment using the bank card) etc., payment is carried out through the third party payment platform.
The third type relies on bundling between a mobile terminal number and user account information. Specifically, when a user registers for a web service, a mobile terminal number of the user's is bundled with his account information. When making an on-line payment, the user needs to enter his password and confirm the transaction using a mobile terminal device correlated with the mobile terminal number. A payment platform performs the payment based on the bundling information, the mobile terminal number, the password and confirmation information.
The first type of on-line payment technique requires a user to provide bank card details when registering an account and thereby complicates the user registration process, and users often chooses not to register due to security concerns or merely because of the complexity of the registration process. The second type of payment technique requires a user to enter a user name and pin etc. and thereby complicates the payment process. The third type of payment technique requires a user to provide his mobile terminal number and involves password entry and transaction confirmation when making a payment. Like the second type of payment technique, the third payment technique also complicates the payment process. Therefore, the existing payment technology hinders development of web based services to some extent.
Additionally, with rapid development of mobile communication technology, more and more people start to use mobile based web services. However, when users access web services using their mobile phones, it is difficult for web service providers to obtain the users mobile phone numbers and therefore not able to simplify payment processes by taking advantage of existing payment arrangements for mobile communication services. As a result, many good web services can only be offered to users for free. This is not good for the development of web-based services in the long run.
In view of the above-listed problems, the inventor has devised a new payment method and system based on correlation between product specific information (for selected goods/services) and mobile terminal numbers, which can simplify on-line payment process.